


Forever Wherever

by alternatively_troublesome



Category: Graceland (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 13:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7509301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alternatively_troublesome/pseuds/alternatively_troublesome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike Warren, overachiever that he is, gets into Fulls-Burry Institute, one of the most prestigious colleges in the nation/world. He expects a lot of things, few of which he actually gets. </p><p>It all starts when he gets transferred from the honors dorm to an upperclassman dorm located on the edge of campus: Grace Snyder Hall, or "Graceland" to the residents. All of his goals and life plans start to change. Who's to blame? Why, Johnny Tuturro, of course!</p><p>(AKA i am trash and i couldn't find any AUs/long fics in this ship on here so i intend to fix that)</p><p>(Title taken from a song in the first ep: "Forever Wherever" by Andrew Jed)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever Wherever

**Author's Note:**

> Hey you!! I'm super duper pumped that you decided to check this out. Before we begin, I just wanted to let you know a little bit about all of my various websites haha
> 
> If you prefer reading on tumblr, check out https://alttroubwritessome.tumblr.com or https://broadsquared.tumblr.com to keep up with updates on this work!
> 
> If you'd like to give me a little tip, head on over to https://www.patreon.com/alternativelytroublesome 
> 
> Ok!! Go read!! Much love!!!! <3
> 
> (P.S. keep in mind that i know literally zero about photography so like... yeah, you'll see)

First days. Most students don’t look upon first days positively. Most see them as a return to the constraints of classrooms and schedules and internships, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Mike Warren, however, was not most students.

He waltzed onto campus with his backpack strung over both shoulders, a suitcase in hand, and a cheerful smile on his lips. He seemed to radiate sunshine, a stark contrast to the otherwise dazed students around him. That didn’t matter, though, because he was here, he was prepared, and he was definitely going to conquer this college.

Fulls-Burry Institute (jokingly named FBI for short) was the best university on the West Coast and one of the best universities in the nation (well, in Mike’s opinion, one of the best in the world). Mike had been valedictorian of his graduating class, on both the varsity track and football teams, and one the top debaters in the country. He liked to act like he was worried about getting in to Fulls-Burry, but it was no secret that he was their number one pick.

Mike stopped in front of the cluster of dorms before him and smiled a little wider. He had been at the top of the dorm request list, so his placement into the honors building, Declan Circle, was almost guaranteed.

“Hi there!” a chipper voice interrupted. Mike turned his attention to the voice in question, which belonged to a short girl with a nametag that read, “Carla.” “I’m Carla,” she announced.

“Hello,” he answered awkwardly, giving a half smile. “I’m Mike Warren.”

“Are you here for your dorm assignment?” she asked, her large grin never fading.

“Yup! I was told to come this way.” He tried to hide his excitement, but failed.

“Great!” She pulled out a phone and tapped something in. “Alright, Mike Warren, it looks like you have been assigned to Declan Circle, room number 525!” Mike grinned wide. All of his dreams had come true. “Oh, wait, so sorry. It looks like you were moved to Grace Snyder Hall, room 312.” Mike felt his stomach drop and couldn’t help the disappointment that overtook his expression.

“You’re sure?” he asked, hoping that maybe she’d misread something.

“Yup! Says right here.” She turned her phone around so that he could see the screen. Sure enough, he was in Grace Snyder Hall. He knew from his copious studying about the university that that was upperclassmen territory.

“Thanks, Carla. I’ll be on my way,” he sighed. She was on to the next freshman in seconds, leaving Mike to navigate to his dorm. According to his map, the hall wasn’t even located with the other dorms; it was on the other end of campus, next to the marine sciences building—and the shoreline. The university was on a prime slab of beachfront property, making the room and board prices even more astronomical. Thankfully, his scholarship was covering everything.

Grace Snyder Hall, it turned out, wasn’t nearly as bad as Mike had pictured it to be: unlike the stone towers on the other side of campus, it was mainly glass, all smooth curves and modern architecture. Each dorm seemed to have either a great view of the ocean or a great view of the mountains a few miles away from campus. There were no tables for registration out front, nothing to indicate that anyone was even considering moving in in the near future.

After a moment of hesitation, Mike opened the door and glanced around. Despite the contemporary architecture, there was only one elevator, which held an “out of order” sign. He sighed and headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Once he hit the third floor, a little out of breath, he wandered through the halls to find his room. It was an eerie level of quiet. Well, at least for a moment.

“Briggs!” Someone pounded on a door down the hall. “I know you’re in there!”

Mike jumped at the yelling, turning his head quickly to look behind him. A tall boy pounded on one of the doors, a sneaky smile tugging at his lips despite his harsh tone. He sighed and glanced towards Mike.

“Hey, dude,” he called tiredly, looking back at the door. A beat passed before he turned back to Mike. “Wait. I don’t know you.”

“Uh, yeah,” Mike said dumbly. “I’m a freshman. I got moved here. This is Grace Snyder Hall, correct?” The boy laughed at that, confusing Mike even further.

“Sure, but don’t let anyone else hear you call it that,” he teased, walking towards Mike. “It’s informally called GS by the faculty, but we all just call it Graceland.”

“Graceland,” Mike repeated. He liked that.

“Yeah. I’m Johnny.” The boy, Johnny, offered his hand.

“Mike.” He shook Johnny’s hand and smiled wide.

“Great.” Johnny’s grin did little to hide the appraising look he gave Mike. Mike, for his part, shifted uncomfortably, glancing around to try to find his room. “What’s your room number?”

“312.”

“Awesome! We’re right near each other.” Johnny began, walking past Mike as an indication for the freshman to follow. “All the rooms here are single, so you won’t have to worry about any roommates. That being said, there’s still not much by way of privacy on this floor. No secrets in Graceland.”

“Gotcha.” Mike gulped, nervous.

“Don’t worry,” Johnny responded, apparently seeing right through Mike’s brave façade. “There’s a kitchen and a lounge back by Briggs’ room. Briggs is the RA for this floor. Used to be a hard-ass but then he did some study abroad thing and now he’s all zen,” he explained with a shrug. “Even though we have a bunch of rooms on this floor, there’s only a few of us, probably because most upperclassmen tend to live off campus or in one of the apartment complexes.” He paused and looked back at Mike. “You know why they put you here as a freshman?”

“No idea,” Mike answered truthfully. Johnny hummed thoughtfully, a little skeptical.

“Well, you’ll prob get picked on a bit, but that’s no different from the freshman dorms, from what I’ve heard.” He stopped and pointed at a door labeled, “312.” “This one’s you, bro.”

“Thanks.” Mike looked from the numbers on the door down to the knob. He frowned and tried opening it. Just as he had guessed: locked. Johnny cracked up laughing. “Hey, Johnny, you wouldn’t happen to know where I could get a key, do you?”

“Yeah, looks like you’ll get to meet Briggs sooner than later,” he smirked. “C’mon, Mikey.” They both trudged back down the hall to the door that Johnny had been pounding on. “Briggs, get your lazy ass out of bed!” Something hit the door with a loud thud and they both flinched.

“I mean, if we need to come back another time...” Mike trailed off, looking cautiously at the door.

“Nah, man, Briggs’ll get up,” Johnny assured. “Get up! We got a newbie!” Something cracked against the door and Mike jumped. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. Why don’t you drop your stuff in my room?” Mike nodded with a smirk. Johnny led him a little further up the hall and opened the door to reveal a cluttered room. “It’s a little messy.”

“Nah, looks fine,” Mike lied, giving Johnny a winning smile. He set his bags down against the wall next to the door. He was about to turn back around to leave, but a photo on the wall caught his eye. Without thinking, Mike stepped closer and examined the black and white image. “Wow,” he murmured absentmindedly.

“Wow?” Johnny asked, appearing at Mike’s side. “I got that at some yard sale or something in my first weeks here,” he laughed. “I kinda just needed something to fill the space. Is it any good?” Mike gave Johnny a look intense judgment, mouth agape.

“Is it—Yes. Yes. It is very good,” he gushed excitedly. “Just… Okay, just look at this angle. And—And that slight lens flare? Nothing too outlandish, of course; it’s the subtlety of the lens flare—of the whole photograph, actually—that makes it so outstanding.” He stared at the image, his lips tugging upwards absentmindedly. Johnny had honestly stopped listening to what Mike was saying in favor of studying the movement of his lips and the creases by his eyelids as he waxed poetic.

“Huh. Sounds like a good find,” Johnny finally commented, his gaze flicking back to the photograph. Mike turned to Johnny with a content smile. For the first time since he had arrived on campus did he really feel comfortable.

“Okay, what the fuck did you want, Johnny?” a coarse voice asked from the door. Both of them turned to find a built man—seriously, how was this guy only an upperclassman?—staring at them with a bored expression. He took a bite out of an apple and focused on Mike. “Who’s this?”

“Newbie,” Johnny answered, pointing to Mike. “He needs a key.”

“Ah.” Briggs looked between Johnny and Mike, squinting a little. Mike shifted uncomfortably. “Okay, kid. What room are you?”

“312.” There was a pause as Briggs stared at the ceiling, thinking hard about something.

“Alright. I think I have a spare key from the last guy that was there,” he finally responded, turning around and walking away before either of them could respond.

“That’s Briggs?” Mike asked in a whisper. Johnny opened his mouth to answer, but another voice cut in.

“That’s Briggs,” Briggs agreed from down the hall. Mike was mortified; Johnny cackled.

“That’s Briggs,” Johnny repeated. “C’mon, Mikey, let’s go get you into your room.”

**Author's Note:**

> So??? How'd you like it? :D
> 
> Go ahead and leave me lots of comments to let me know your thoughts. I'll try to keep updating pretty frequently!! Have a good one, lovelies!


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